The mother of the cub, Mei Xiang leaves her cub for up to two hours at a time to get breakfast. At some point, the mother and cub will be comfortable spending many hours away from each other. The cub is even sleeping through the exams. Mei nurses the cub before she goes out to get breakfast, zoo officials said.

The cub is now 23 inches long and her right front paw measured in at 2.4 inches long (6 centimeters) and her hind paws at 3 inches (8 centimeters), officials said.

Click through these new photos from the National Zoo to see how much the cub has grown!